Property
by Aindel S. Druida
Summary: Axel had no idea that he would be securing much more than just a new property for his boss' real estate agency when he took that business trip. Akuroku, etc. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form, other than the disc I bought used at EB Games. If I made money from this, it would be cool, but also very, very illegal.**

**Warnings: Slight language, real estate, Canadian spelling, Xemnas, and lots of gay guys. Like, seriously. Enough gay guys to choke a herd of moose.**

**Notes: This is set in a country comprised of city-states. It was just easier that way. Government structure currently eludes me, though, so don't ask.**

**Also, I proofread this twice, so chalk any errors you spot up to my cold medication.**

* * *

Axel supposed he'd always known that his boss was a few cards shy of a full deck. Not that the man was stupid in any way, because Xemnas could be quite brilliant at times. There were other times, though, when the man did something that seriously made Axel doubt his boss' sanity. Now was one of those times.

"You want me to do what?"

"I said, I want you to attend this charity event on my behalf," Xemnas repeated slowly, his eyes boring into Axel.

"Yeah, but why?"

"Because it is important that we maintain a positive community image if we are to obtain our ultimate goal."

That was another thing that made Axel question the possibility of a room with padded walls for his boss: his 'ultimate goal.' He'd been mentioning it rather incessantly to the redhead since his interview a year prior, after the company he'd worked for shut down.

* * *

"_So, Axel, you want to work in real estate." Though it was a statement rather than a question, he felt the need to nod in affirmation. "You don't have any previous experience, though, nor do you have a degree or diploma relating to real estate."_

"_No, Sir." Axel shifted uncomfortably in his seat._

"_And yet you felt the need to apply to my company?"_

"_Well, I moved around a lot as a kid before my parents settled down here in Twilight Town, so I've had a lot of experience with different houses, not to mention realtors," he explained, trying to sell himself to the company founder. "And I always did research on the places I was demolishing at the construction company, so I probably know about as much as any kid with a degree about architecture, and obviously some engineering."_

_Xemnas seemed to consider this as he leaned closer over the desk, hands pressed together. "But why real estate? Why not apply to another construction company as a demolitions expert?"_

"_Honestly? As fun as blowing houses up was, I'd like to see them stay up for a change, and be a part of keeping a building standing in the hands of someone who will take care of it." This was, of course, bullshit. Axel loved nothing more than to flip a switch and watch a structure go down with a bang. He figured, however, that something more heartfelt that would put the real estate business in a positive light would be the better way to go. Besides, the real estate company paid more, and Axel needed the money now that his parents had kicked him out so that he could learn some independence._

"_Do you have an ultimate goal, Axel? Something you would devote your entire being to if you could?"_

"_Not really, Sir."_

"_I see."_

_The redhead couldn't tell whether or not his answer had displeased his prospective employer, so he hazarded the conversational question, "Do you have an ultimate goal, Sir?"_

_Gracefully the powerful man rose from his chair and walked toward the large windows that looked out upon the whole of Twilight Town. "I would like my company to have prestige, a reputation as the best in real estate. In order to do that, we must secure the most prestigious property in the country: Kingdom Hearts!" His arms spread wide to emphasize the obvious grandeur of the property in question, and he turned back to Axel with an almost fanatical gleam in his eye._

"_That sounds…,"_ batshit insane,_ "awesome."_

_He'd gotten a phone call a few days later, proclaiming him the proud owner of the eighth desk at Organization Realtors._

* * *

"Right, the ultimate goal." Axel sighed. "So why are you sending me? Why not someone else?"

"All members ranking above you have had a turn at social niceties, and now it's yours."

Clearly he wasn't going to be talking his way out of this job. "Fine, fine. I gotcha. Where is this thing and what's it for?"

Xemnas reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out the beige card, sliding it across the polished wooden surface as he spoke. "Funds are being raised to build a new wing of the hospital on the city-state of Destiny Island, and a ball is being held to unveil the plans and models to possible corporate and private sponsors. The Organization will be making a sizeable donation to the project, and therefore someone must make an appearance."

"Destiny Island, huh? That's a pretty far trip just for some shindig."

"Which is why you will be spending a week there. In addition to personally handing the cheque over to the chairman of the hospital board, you will research the city for any valuable or interesting properties to acquire. Prepare to board your gummi ship tomorrow, you'll find your tickets on your desk this afternoon."

Axel rose to leave, hearing the dismissal in the other man's voice. As he reached for the knob, Xemnas added one final comment.

"If I find out that you spent this trip on the beach eating ice cream, you will find yourself once again in the darkness of unemployment."

* * *

"Demyx, I'm telling you, the guy needs to be committed," the redhead complained into the cordless phone as he searched through his disorganized dresser to come up with a week's worth of clean socks. He'd dialed the familiar number as soon as he'd come home, since the other man had been away from the office, on business in Atlantica.

"Aw, come on, Axel. He's not that bad. He's just a bit – Zexy, turn here. …Yes, I'm sure; I'm the one with the map and instructions in my lap. …Where are you going? You just missed the turn! Go back, dammit! …Sorry, Axel."

"And that's another thing: how come you get to go on a two-day property tour with a partner, who, I might add, happens to conveniently also be your boyfriend, while I have to spend a week in the ass-end of nowhere by myself?"

"Don't be mad. Besides, who would he send with you? Xigbar and Xaldin have been working with the publicist on the new logo and promotion package, Lexaeus has the social skills of a rock – Sorry Zexion, I know he's your friend, but it's true, and keep your eyes on the road! – Saix doesn't go anywhere without the boss-man, and you'd kill Vexen before the trip was over."

"True enough. What about the new guy Luxord's been training? Mar-something."

A sigh came across the line. "Just because the Superior is crazy doesn't mean he's poor enough a businessman to send a total noob to an important social function. Especially since Marluxia is being trained by Luxord because he is an addition to the currently one-man HR department."

"…Well, what about Namine?"

This time Demyx paused for a moment, and Axel could picture in his mind the mulhawked man blinking at his cell as his slate-haired boyfriend glanced over from behind the wheel of the sleek company vehicle. "You want him to send the receptionist with you on a recon mission? Are you sure you're not the one who needs to be committed?"

"Alright, I get it. I'll just suck it up and do the damn job alone."

"Good for you! Anyway, I can see the edge of the new Atlantica property, so I'm gonna have to let you go. Have fun on your trip! Bring me back something awesome!"

A click told Axel that he'd been hung up on, so he threw the phone on the bed, turning to finish his packing. He wondered how long he'd been going around with one pair of proper socks and five pairs of mismatched ones. He'd have to stop at the store before his flight.

**

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**

End Notes: So, that was short, but it was a good introduction to the company's setup. Since, by now, you're probably wondering where this came from and what kind of crack I've been smoking, I'll explain: Xemnas had Castle Oblivion, the Castle That Never Was, and the Mansion in Twilight Town. Xehanort-as-Ansem-who-is-Xemnas's-heartless (yeah, try following that one) had the castle in Hollow Bastion. And everybody wants Kingdom Hearts. So really, bad guys are all about their real estate.

**Please let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

Axel dragged his heavy suitcase off the carousel with one hand, the other holding his carry-on bag while trying to balance his garment bag on his shoulder. Legs still slightly stiff from his flight, he made his way through the nearest set of sliding doors out of the gummi garage to hail a taxi. This wasn't a difficult task, as dozens of the garish yellow-and-blue vehicles were stationed against the curb, waiting for passengers. Axel made his way to the nearest available car, where the trunk was popped open for him before the driver, a bulky man with a dark tan and large teeth, came around to help him load his luggage. He climbed into the back seat as the driver replaced himself behind the wheel.

"Where to, man?"

"The Paopu Grand Hotel." Axel winced as his leg muscles complained about being cramped up again so soon. "And fast, please."

"No problem," the driver replied as he moved the car over, merging into the traffic heading deeper into the island city. "So you had a good flight, ya?"

"As good a flight as you can have in those winged tin cans."

The other man laughed. "I know what you mean. If man were meant to fly, he'd have been born with wings, ya?"

"Something like."

"Is this your first trip to Destiny Island?"

"Nah," Axel replied, shifting in an attempt to get slightly more comfortable. "I lived here one summer when I was about ten."

"I can guarantee a lot's changed since then. That gummi garage probably wasn't even around then."

Axel shook his head. "That was the entire reason we were here. My parents are considered the best gummi mechanics in the country."

The driver glanced back at him in the rearview mirror, though he didn't seem too fazed by the statement. "You're the Highwinds' kid then? And you hate flying?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of a disappointment."

"What'd you do while your parents were working? I remember the papers saying they were coming here, but I don't remember anyone ever saying the Highwinds had a kid."

Axel shrugged. "Hung around our place, watching TV. I wandered around every once in a while, checking out the shops, stopping at one playground or another. I didn't go out too much, though, since Mom was afraid I'd jump in the sea and drown or something. Sometimes I'd help in the garage, if Dad was welding."

"So are you here on business for them now?"

"No, I'm in real estate. I'm here for that thing about the hospital."

"Well, here we are," the driver said, bringing the pleasant conversation to a halt at the same time as the car. "Do you need any help with your luggage?"

Axel shook his head as he reached for his wallet. "Thanks for the lift…" he glanced at the taxi licence on the dash, "Wakka. I'll be fine."

"No problem, Mr. Highwind. Have fun during your stay, ya?"

He swiped the company card through the cab's machine, keying in an amount of munny that covered both the cost and a decent tip, and hauled his luggage towards the front doors of the colossal hotel.

It was obvious that money had been no object when the Shinra family had expanded their hotel chain from their home country of Midgar into Eisner. A Grand Hotel had been erected in each of the fourteen city-states that made up the country of Eisner, and it was hard to say which of them was the most lavish. Each of the hotels had its own distinctive style befitting its location, just like the variation in the names. At the Paopu Grand, the crisp, clean uniforms of the staff were aqua and beige, with the black Shinra logo monogrammed in its usual place to match the flag flying out front. A woman wearing this uniform checked him into his room, sliding the company credit card through and wishing him a pleasant stay. The uniform was also worn by the man who then took Axel's luggage from him and placed it on a cart, following the redhead into the mirrored elevators and up to his room on the twelfth floor.

Axel smiled to himself as he hung the garment bag in the closet and looked around the room. Man, he loved staying in executive class. His suite was laid out so that all of the rooms connected to one another through varnished wooden doors. The first was the office and sitting area, with what Axel assumed was a sofa that could be unfolded into an additional bed, and curtains that opened to a magnificent view of one of Destiny Island's many beaches. To the extreme right was the bathroom, wherein a custom-designed shower stall was raised off the floor; one of the stall's doors opened into the general bathroom area, while the other opened so that the occupant could step into the Jacuzzi tub positioned next to it. The bathroom itself had a second door which led to the bedroom; Axel grinned before flopping happily face-first into the plush aqua duvet covering the king-size bed.

He rested there for a few minutes, stretching out his limbs and cracking various joints. Raising his head slightly, he looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. According to the glowing red numbers, there were still four hours until cocktails were served at six. Axel pushed himself off the bed and went to retrieve his suitcase from the entranceway. Screw what Xemnas had said; he was going to tan, dammit!

* * *

Half an hour of laying on a lounge chair, and Axel was already in need of assistance in fending off women. He was also already slightly burnt. Truth be told, Axel couldn't understand why females felt the urge to flock to him while he was half-naked. In a suit, sure; he was hot stuff in well-tailored pinstripes – which happened to be a description of the only good suit he owned – but he always felt slightly insecure about his almost-too-thin body when it was uncovered like this. Not that he would ever let on that he was anything less than completely confident.

"Incoming!"

Evidently the crowd around Axel had heard this panicked warning call before, and appropriately ran away screaming from the direction of the voice. The redhead, however, sat up to look for the source of the trouble just in time to be smacked upside the head with a large ball.

"Ow! Sonuvabitch!" If there was one thing that Axel could claim he'd inherited from his father, it was his foul language. "Damn, that hurt!" He looked for the cause of his pain and saw the blue and white offender near his feet. He reached for it, feeling the spike-like ridges on the surface as he turned it over in his hands.

"Hey, sorry about that. Are you okay?"

He gingerly touched the back of his head before nodding to the kid who'd come running. "I'll be fine. Hurts less than hitting your head off a gummi engine, anyway."

The kid grinned, choppy dark blond hair flopping slightly into his eyes as he caught the ball Axel tossed his way. "You must be from out of town. Everybody around here knows to duck and run from a stray blitzball." Axel snorted, but the kid continued. "So yeah, I'm really sorry. But if you're okay, then I'm gonna head back to my game." He took off and Axel shook his head at the back of the yellow jersey with 'Tidus' emblazoned on it.

Deciding that it wasn't worth his possible demise to stay here any longer, he packed his bag up and began the short trek back to the hotel. He glanced at the other beach-goers as he passed, smiling slightly at the sight of one in particular. Bare feet stuck out into the sand from light-coloured pants and elbows were propped up on the lawn chair's armrests to hold a book up. The boy – Axel assumed it was a boy, but he supposed it could have been a tomboy-ish girl, since the sitting position obscured every major telling factor and he figured it might be a bit creepy to look more closely – reminded him of what Zexion would probably be like at the beach, which in turn reminded him that he should call Demyx later to let him know that he'd arrived safely. He made a mental note to do so after he'd showered all the sand off his body, and gotten some ice and aspirin for his head.

* * *

Cocktails were finishing up, and it had just been announced that dinner would be served in the Gold Room in a few minutes. This meant, by Axel's calculations, that he'd been standing in this corner, casually sipping at the same glass of champagne he'd grabbed from a tray when he'd arrived, for almost an hour. He'd picked a prime spot, though. Barely anyone had come up to him to make small talk, but he wasn't so far out of the way that anyone could tell he was actively avoiding the gathering. Briefly he wondered if his parents were donating to the hospital and, if so, who they'd sent on this awful job. He saw what he thought was a familiar head of dark hair running about in a short green dress and cringed, praying to be saved from a potential run-in with his parents' most annoying mechanic.

Axel's thoughts were interrupted by the announcement that dinner was served, and caught himself up warily in the queue to enter the doors. When he gave his name to the woman at the entrance, she told him that he was seated at table seventeen and gestured in the vague direction of the table. As he sat down after finding the table with the card labeled 'seventeen' on it, as well as his own place setting, a staff member bustled over to fill the wine glasses with what he assumed was an excellent vintage, if he cared about those things. There were five other places at the small round table, and they were filled over the next few minutes by an exotic-looking couple with deep tans and baggy clothing to his left, an old woman with a cat brooch accompanied by an equally old man with the annoying habit of singing nonsense under his breath across from him, and a man with unruly blond spikes who had, after quickly surveying the other members of the circle, introduced himself to Axel as Cloud Strife.

Since the exotic couple was busy talking to one another and neither of them wanted to brave the musical old man and, by association, his partner, the two young men turned to one another for conversation over the various courses of the meal.

"So you're a Highwind. Are you here on behalf of your parents?"

Axel took a sip of his wine before answering, mentally rolling his eyes at the often-asked question. "No, actually I don't work for my parents. I'm here on behalf of my boss."

"You're a corporate donor, then. So does your boss have a connection to the hospital, or is this purely promotional? If you don't mind my asking."

"Hey, it's not my story; I don't care who knows it. It's complicated, but here's the short version: Xemnas, my boss, is the son of this guy named Xehanort. Except Xehanort was actually born as Terra. He grew up, realized he was gay, married a dude named Ventus." Cloud didn't object to hearing about gay males, as other had done when this story was told by the media years ago, so Axel continued. "They adopt Xemnas, who looks freakishly like Xehanort, but there's no record of strange scientific experiments proving differently, so we accept it and move on. Anyway, a few years later, Ven goes on a ski trip with a friend of theirs, Aqua. They get stuck in a snowstorm, get hypothermia, and die. Xehanort goes nuts, this is the point where he actually changes his name, and drags Xemnas all around Eisner until he becomes a little too kooky and lands himself in the hospital. _This_ hospital. He died a few years ago."

Cloud blinked, processing all the information the redhead had just fed him. "That was the short version?"

"The longer version goes into detail about Ven and Terra's wedded bliss, and their happiness as a family with Xemnas before Ven's tragic untimely demise. I heard it once, and trust me, I wouldn't wish that one anyone."

"Oh."

There were only sounds of indistinct chatter around them and knives gently hitting plates for a moment. "So what about you? Are you a corporate donor or private?"

Cloud nodded as he finished chewing the bite of chicken he'd just taken. "Both, actually." He smiled when Axel's eyebrows raised in slight shock. "I'm not usually this open or talkative, but since we're sharing stories… I'm the owner of Strife Delivery, so I'm making a donation to the hospital through my business, since they use it for so many of their shipments." Axel nodded; his own parents, as well as the Organization, frequently used the highly successful shipping company. "I'm also giving a personal donation on behalf of my sons. They're probably around your age."

Axel gaped openly at the blond man, sputtering in disbelief. "How are you old enough to have kids that old?"

Cloud laughed. "I'm a bit older than I look, I promise you. But that's where the story comes in; they're not biologically mine. They were born to friends of mine, right out of high school, when I was sixteen. Their mother died in childbirth, something about internal bleeding, in this hospital – the twins came early while they were on vacation. I helped raise them after that, which is why they were left in my care according to Zack's will when he also died after a fatal injury at work when a reactor blew. At age twenty-two I suddenly found myself the father of twin six-year old boys."

"Wow. I remember hearing about that accident, actually. It was in Midgar, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, in a town called Niebelheim, not far from the border. I moved myself and the twins out here a couple years later. I thought the environment would be better for them."

Axel bit his lip thoughtfully. "Mom and Dad were worried for a few days after it was on the news. We've got family out there."

Cloud studied Axel carefully for a moment, which, truth be told, made Axel slightly nervous, before the blond man broke out in a grin. "Reno. You've got to be related to Reno. The resemblance is too uncanny."

"He's my second cousin or something. You know him?"

"We went to school together. He's a pain in the ass, and a troublemaker, but a good friend to have at your back."

The rest of dinner and the unveiling ceremony went by rather pleasantly, Axel and Cloud successfully avoiding everyone else as they exchanged questions and stories. Axel discovered that the blond hated social functions as much as the redhead did, perhaps even more so. He also decided that, while the man may not have been biologically related to his sons, he was in every other way the stereotypical proud father.

"My sons – you know, I keep talking about them, I should show you a picture. I know I have one somewhere in my wallet… Here it is. It's a bit old, probably at least five years ago, but…" Axel took the photograph, looking down at a beaming brunet about twelve years old with his arm slung around the shoulders of a shyly smiling blond. Both boys had glowing blue eyes, and the young man felt slightly guilty about thinking how attractive those eyes were. "That's Sora, and the other is Roxas. They're heading to university this fall; both of them were accepted to Sunset University in Twilight Town. Since you said you're in the business, I was actually wondering if you might be interested in helping us get a property over there. I don't necessarily need to be in Destiny Island, since I have offices in a few of the city-states, and I'd like to stay with the twins as long as I can, you know?"

Axel assured the man that he would love to represent them as their real estate agent. They exchanged business cards, and the redhead excused himself for the night. When he returned to his room, he flipped open his cell, dialing Xemnas' office number to leave a message on his voicemail. "Hey, Superior. I think I may have just found you a buyer for the old Mansion property…"

**

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End Notes: So, that was a lot of backstory to get through, but congratulations, you made it! The only thing

**in this chapter that was pre-planned was Axel's conversation with Cloud about the twins. I didn't even know that Axel was Cid and Shera's kid until this morning.**

**The Xehanort/Terra theory is something that I've developed over the past few months from seeing different trailers and Mix and Mix+ videos. If you really want to know, ask me about it. I can go on for hours pointing out little tiny insignificant things. My roommate can testify.**

**To anyone who can point out every reference/allusion made in this chapter: you have no life. Welcome to the club.**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was Sunday, and the same thoughts passed through Axel's mind over and over again, as they had for the past few hours. First, he wished he were anywhere but his current location; second, he was thankful that the place had air conditioning, as Destiny Island was ridiculously warm under the afternoon June sun; third, it was horribly depressing that he lacked a social life enough that he didn't have to cancel plans with anyone to be here for a weekend open house at the current Strife-Fair residence. After their initial meeting at the hospital function, Cloud and Axel had met later in the week to discuss terms and sign paperwork. The house had spent a couple weeks on the market, during which Axel had spent time at the office, e-mailing Cloud periodically with new pictures and reasons why the old mansion – officially called the Neverwas property, but no one actually called it that – would be perfect for the Strife-Fairs. This brought Axel to his current situation, stuck in his second afternoon in a row of open houses, bored out of his skull.

He'd already toured the house multiple times, the first of which had been with Cloud when he'd called on the blond man at home to sign papers and to get the specifications for the listing.

* * *

_"Pluto! Red! Down, boys." The dogs that had been jumping at Axel as soon as the door was open stopped immediately, sitting on the rug and staring at the visitor innocently. "Sorry about them. They're friendly, just excitable. They spend too much time with Sora and not enough time in obedience school."_

_"It's fine, don't worry. I had a dog named Moomba when I was a kid."_

_Cloud nodded as he hung Axel's jacket in the foyer closet and motioned for the redhead to follow him into the house. They walked down the white hallway, passing by a large, open living room, a dining room with French doors, and a closed door that Axel assumed was a bathroom before reaching the end of the hall. It opened up into a kitchen with a breakfast nook on one end, and a sitting room with a patio door at the other. After offering Axel something to drink, which he politely declined, Cloud took a seat with him at the kitchen table._

_"Okay, so," Axel began as he slid one of the packages across the top of the small, round table, "here's everything you'll need to buy and sell a house with Organization Realtors. All of this is to declare that you agree to use the Organization as a selling and buying agent, myself in particular. Since you had the property appraised recently, we don't need to bring in Lexaeus and we can list the value discussed during that appraisal."_

_The sound of the front door opening and closing drew the two men away from their business momentarily as both heads turned toward the entranceway. A teenage boy with spiky brown hair sauntered into the kitchen area; Axel knew immediately that this was one of Cloud's sons, since he didn't look much different than he had in the old, battered picture in Cloud's wallet, but he couldn't remember for the life of him either of the twins' names. He received an acknowledging nod as he locked eyes with the kid, getting a friendly "hey" as a greeting._

_"Sora, this is Axel; he's the real estate agent I told you about. Axel, the older of my twins, Sora."_

_Axel waved his hand slightly in greeting as Sora turned to open the chrome fridge next to the opening in the wall, addressing his father. "What'd you make for dinner, Dad?"_

_"There's chicken and potatoes in a container on the second shelf. Take the one with the green lid; the blue one is for your brother's lunch, since he's working late tonight." The blond man turned back to Axel. "Sorry about that. You were saying...?"_

_The redhead brushed the apology aside. "Right. So if everything looks in order on those papers, you can take them to your lawyer to have them look it all over. If everything seems fine to them, sign all the lines marked with an 'x' and fax them to the number on my card."_

_"It seems fine from what I can tell. At least, it all looks relatively the same as last time I moved."_

_"Good," Axel grinned. "Now the only thing left with regards to paperwork is to negotiate my percentage of the sell. I'm thinking eight sounds like a good number."_

_"I'm thinking not."_

_If possible, Axel grinned even wider. "Smart man. Never take the initial offer, it's always too high. Okay, so here's what I'm realistically thinking: six percent, and I'll bring it down to four if you buy one of the places I recommend to you. I've got a house or two in mind that we're representing; I'll send you the listings when I get back to the office."_

_Cloud considered this offer, his visible thought process underscored by the beeping of the black microwave on a shelf as the brunet pulled his dinner from the inside of it before slamming the door shut. "That sounds fair."_

_"Good. I'll just write that in here, then," a few pen scratches could be heard over Sora's retreating footsteps, "and now we can move on to the listing."_

_Axel was given a thorough tour, beginning with the finished basement. Descending the stairs, Axel was shown Cloud's home office with wood-paneled walls, the large, open exercise room with the mirrored wall, and the laundry room. Back up on the ground floor, he was given a longer look at the rooms he'd passed by earlier. First was the living room, with its large bay window and protruding gas fireplace; there was easily enough room in this space for two complete furniture sets, rather than just the singular black leather one that occupied the room. The dining room had, in fact, two sets of French doors, one at either end. Painted a warmer colour than most of the house, the room also had a multi-bulb light fixture at each end, controlled by a dimmer at the further end of the room. Axel had been right about the bathroom, though it was technically a half-bath, since it contained only a toilet and sink with a small vanity._

_"And you've already seen the kitchen nook and the sitting room. Ready to see the upstairs?" They moved up the large staircase in the foyer, sparsely decorated with pictures of the two boys at various ages along with a few pictures of a smiling man with black hair and a pretty young woman with brown hair; Axel assumed that these were the boys' biological parents. "I apologize in advance for any mess you may witness. I told them to make sure everything was in order, but…" he shrugged._

_The redhead laughed. "I've been out of the teenage stage for almost three years now, and my place is still a disaster. Don't worry about it."_

_Cloud looked like it still bothered him, but continued with the tour nonetheless. Reaching the top of the stairs, the first room was immediately to the right; this was Sora's room, as indicated by the brunet on the bed, fork dangling from his mouth as he stared blankly at the notebook open in his lap. The room was spacious, with plenty of room for the standard bedroom furniture as well as a small television hooked up to some gaming platform or another. The teen raised his head as he heard Cloud sigh, and rolled his eyes._

_"Dad, it's clean." Cloud raised his eyebrows, and Axel fought the urge to laugh at the exchange. "Well, it's cleaner than it was before. Yesterday you wouldn't have been able to see the floor."_

_Shaking his head, the blond man closed the door behind the two of them, leaving Sora to his homework. They continued down the hallway, which seemed to almost be laid out in a square, Cloud pointing out the extra closet spaces as they passed them, until they arrived at the door directly across from Sora's. There were no doubts as to whose room this was, with the name 'Roxas' intricately carved on a plaque hung in the centre of the door. Cloud opened the door and led Axel into a room roughly the same size as Sora's, though exponentially neater. Instead of a television, Roxas' room was personalized by way of a completely full floor-to-ceiling corner bookcase, and he had two windows rather than one._

_"This room has the largest closet space, after mine. And it gets sun practically all day, with the extra window. Or at least it would, if not for that gigantic tree at the side of the house." Axel noted the large vegetation to which Cloud referred, some of its leaves brushing against the glass above the absent teen's desk._

_Back out in the hall, Axel was shown the full bathroom the boys and guests used before proceeding into the master bedroom. Cloud's room really lacked anything that hinted at the man's personality, but he'd been right about the closet space. The master bedroom not only had a spacious ensuite bathroom, but also a walk-in closet that was not even half-filled with the blond man's clothing._

_Moving back out of the room, the pair hooked around the last stretch of hallway and into the guest bedroom at the end. With bland walls, minimal furniture, and a small closet area, the square room was nothing fascinating to look at. Axel did a final check with Cloud to make sure he had all of the specifications correct after they had returned to the ground floor for a look at the yard, and then shook hands with the older man before turning to the rental car he'd picked up earlier in the week. As he drove away, he saw a kid on a skateboard with his nose in a book; Axel only felt a little bad__ for hoping that the kid rolled into a tree or something, because it really would have been funny._

* * *

At least Saturday had brought a few curious people out to see the house; Sunday was absolutely dead. They'd planned the event to run from one in the afternoon until four, that way any service-goers might see the signs and stop by on their way home from worshipping Jenova. So, either no one worshipped Jenova on this island anymore, or no one was interested enough to be bothered to view a house on a Sunday; though Axel himself had no particular religious affiliations, he seriously doubted it was the former option.

A thud from the second floor drew Axel away from the riveting task of twiddling his thumbs, having finished his work he'd brought with him ages ago. He rose from the black leather chair he'd been occupying, curious as to what had made the sound. He knew it couldn't have been Pluto or Red, because he'd seen the two mutts in the minivan when he'd arrived, before Sora and Cloud had pulled away for the afternoon. Cautiously, he made his way around the first hook of the hallway, hearing a light male voice in that direction mutter a string of curses that would've made Axel's father proud. Reaching for the doorknob to the room marked 'Roxas,' he opened the door to find a blond young man hobbling slowly toward the bookcase, the window behind him flung open. The stranger turned when the hinges gave a squeak, and gave Axel a half-smile. "Sorry. You weren't actually supposed to hear me."

Axel could only stare for a moment. The short, blond teen had gravity-defying hair that almost put Cloud's to shame and bright blue eyes that the redhead had seen in pictures multiple times over in this very house. His thin frame was covered with a black and white t-shirt, and beige pants that somehow looked familiar though Axel couldn't think why. He shook his head slightly, getting over the fact that he was actually seeing the elusive and mysterious younger twin. He smirked. "You're not actually supposed to be here at all."

"That's why I came through the window. I figured I could be in and gone, and you'd never know the difference."

"And if someone had been going through the house at the time?"

"They weren't." He reached up, wincing, and placed the book in his hands in a loose space on one of the higher shelves. "There were no cars in the driveway, and the lights weren't continually flicking on and off." He paused and turned to fully face Axel. "Why the hell do they do that anyway?"

"I have no idea, but you're changing the subject." The redhead walked toward the desk, picking up the scattered papers on the floor and placing them on the surface as he peered out the window. "You climbed all the way up here?"

"Yeah."

"Um… why?"

Roxas shrugged, frowning at the shelves he'd turned back to. "I finished that book, so now I need another one."

Axel raised an eyebrow, never dropping his smirk. "So, you climb up here often?"

"No. Actually, today was my first try, so I suppose I'm lucky that I just slid off the desk and didn't break my neck falling out of the tree. It doesn't bother me, though. I like heights." Again Axel was shocked with intense blue. "Why am I even telling you this? I don't even know who you are!"

Now the older man was confused. "I'm the guy who's been trying to sell your house for almost a month."

"So? We've never met before, and you haven't bothered to actually introduce yourself yet."

"Fine. I'm Axel Highwind," he replied, sticking out his hand toward the blond. "I'm sure you've memorized it from the sign out front."

"Highwind? Like, the gummi ship people?"

Bright green eyes rolled. "Yes, like the gummi ship people. Now are you gonna reciprocate or am I gonna stand here like a slot machine a while longer?"

The blond smiled almost against his will. "Roxas Fair," he responded, briefly shaking the offered hand before bolting towards the dresser on the opposite side of the room, picking up a slim paperback from a stack on the top. "Aha! I knew it was in here somewhere."

"Okay, so now I can go back to twiddling my thumbs in the living room without hearing any more strange noises, right?"

Roxas hesitated for a moment, looking Axel up and down. Axel had been checked out before, in bars and such, but this was different. He felt like the blond was judging his entire being. Slowly, the teen opened his mouth to speak. "You can borrow a book, if you want. I think I can trust you enough to not destroy it."

Red spikes moved across the collar of his light blue shirt as he shook his head. "Thanks, but no. It wouldn't look very professional of me if someone walked in and I had my nose in a book."

"So you'd rather sit there, looking like you don't have any working brain cells left?"

A snort. "Fair point. Whatcha got?"

Roxas shrugged. "A bit of everything, really." Once again, he seemed to consider the man in front of him before speaking. "How about _Jurassic Park_?"

"Never heard of it. What's it about?"

"Dinosaurs."

"Do the dinosaurs eat people?"

"Yes."

"Sweet." He grinned, taking the proffered book from the blond. "Might as well give it a try."

The teen tucked his own book into a pocket along the leg of his pants and looked around awkwardly. "So, I guess I'll be going, then." He moved in the direction of the desk, but was stopped by Axel's voice.

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Just use the damn door."

* * *

Cloud returned home just after four, Sora, Roxas, and the dogs all in tow, as Axel was preparing to leave. The redhead reported on his fascinating day of severe loneliness, conveniently leaving out the part where he had been startled by Roxas climbing through his own bedroom window to exchange books. Cloud didn't really need to know, and he was sure the blond had already told his father something to explain the slight wince when he turned a certain way. However, he made the mistake of thanking the younger blond for the loan of the book, asking if he could return it at the open house next weekend.

"Roxas lent you a book?" piped Sora. Cloud also looked mildly curious. "When?" Damn.

"Um…"

"He left me a note on his desk, saying I could pick out a book if I was bored. The note made a very convenient bookmark, too."

Roxas merely nodded, agreeing with the redhead's story, before marching up the stairs to disappear down the hallway. Sora watched his brother's exit before turning to Axel, who was still trying to leave, in disbelief. "Whoa. Exams must have totally fried Rox's brain."

"What makes you say that?" Axel asked, curious.

"Because Roxas is very particular about his books. He's never _ever_ lent a book to a stranger before, and he's never met you."

**

* * *

**

End notes: Holy flashback, Batman! But trust me, it was important. Not that the house itself was important in any way, but the rooms really give you more of an idea of how the family lives.

**Also, yay Roxas! He wasn't actually going to appear in this chapter (actually, the flashback wasn't going to happen quite the way it did, either, but whatever), but then I was talking to my Dad about real estate stuff, because I know jack-all about it and he actually remembers our last move, and he mentioned the family going out during open houses, and my mind went, "Waitasec! That's it!" So now we just have to wonder what's going on in Roxas' mind with regards to Axel…**

**And that bit about the flicking lights is totally true. People will stand there and watch the same light go on and off like forty billion times. I don't get it.**

**Finally, I included **_**Jurassic Park**_** in here because, since I live in a box or something, I just found out the other day that Michael Crichton (author of the book, along with **_**Twister, Timeline**_** and the book on which **_**The Thirteenth Warrior**_** was based) died. So that was a tiny tribute to him.**

**Thanks to all the people who've kept up with this story thus far, especially the ones who've reviewed. I know it can be a pain, but if you do have something to say about my work, even an 'It's good, I like it," please let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

Xemnas' office door opened, releasing yet another slightly frightened-looking hopeful. Only a little more than a month had passed since Organization Realtors had gained Marluxia, and the boss was already looking to add yet another member to their numbers. Apparently Axel's business with the Strife-Fair family had alerted the enigmatic businessman to the increase in the company's travel expenditures over the past little while, and he had decided it was finally time to branch out from Twilight Town into the rest of Eisner. There were a few companies scattered throughout the country – Heartless Real Estate in Hollow Bastion and the Settlement Corporation in Port Royal, namely – that were going under and could easily be bought out and assimilated into the Organization, with the right kind of help. So now Axel watched as applicant after applicant was shown into the Superior's office to interview for the seemingly somewhat coveted position working alongside Xaldin and Xigbar as the manager of franchising.

The redhead couldn't be bothered to care either way about the bold business move his boss was making. Franchise or no franchise, his was the name on the contract with Cloud, so he would be the one to see the transaction through. He was still trying to convince the blond man that the old mansion was the perfect place for him and his sons, and he knew that slowly Cloud was giving in to Axel's arguments. He'd already sent a flood of pictures via e-mail, and had spent days working out the best possible description of the gorgeous woodland surroundings, the stability and reliability of the framework, wiring, and plumbing, and subtly reminded the older man from time to time of the proximity of the property to Twilight Town's tram common so that his sons could easily get to and from the university campus in any weather. He just needed a few more pointers and Axel was certain the mansion would have a 'sold' sign slapped across the post out front.

Reminded by thoughts of the Strife-Fair family of his weekend duties, Axel glanced past the ancient picture of himself with his parents on a vacation to the Pride Lands and took note of the time on the company-issue clock on his desk. Smiling slightly to himself, the redhead logged off his computer and removed the laptop from its docking station. He shouldered his bag and made his way out of the office, waving to those he actually wanted to acknowledge, and stopping to speak briefly to Demyx. "Hey, I ran out of weekend feeder and I haven't had a chance to pick up more. Would you mind going in and feeding Chakram tomorrow and Sunday? I won't be home until late on Sunday, so he'd probably starve by then or something."

Axel was pretty sure it was impossible for Demyx to say 'no' to anything to do with fish. For some strange reason, he claimed that they were his favourite animal. He was the reason Axel even had the red beta to begin with. "No problem," Demyx replied with a grin. He reached out to take the spare key dangling from the redhead's fingers. "I was going to spend the weekend at Zexion's anyway, so I'll just pop across the street to check on him and make sure he's okay."

Axel wasn't sure what Demyx meant when he said 'okay.' To him, the fish was either swimming, or it was dead. It wasn't like a puppy; it couldn't wag its tail or lower its eyes to show emotion. But whatever, as long as the thing stayed swimming. "Thanks, man. I owe you, like, an entire case of drinks by now. Anyway, I gotta go. That is one long-ass trip on the ferry, and I just want to get it over with."

"It wouldn't take nearly as long if you would just fly, like everyone else."

"Hell no. I hate flying. I've already flown out there twice in the past month, and I refuse to do it again. So I will sit on a boat with my car – "

"You mean the company car. You're lucky your car makes it the ten blocks to work."

"Whatever. I haven't packed yet, and I've gotta be at the docks in less than an hour."

Demyx wished him a safe trip as he turned and resumed his journey out of the office. He picked up the keys to one of the three company vehicles from Namine and rolled out of the parking lot. Minutes later Axel was pulling the silver car into one of the guest spaces of his apartment complex. He made the trek up the three flights of exterior stairs to reach his apartment on the corner of the fourth floor. Turning the key in the lock of number 422, he walked in and flung his bag onto the plush chair to his right.

The redhead's bedroom, further into the apartment on the right-hand side, was exactly as he'd told Cloud: a disaster zone. It was hard to see the cheap imitation hardwood flooring beneath what was probably about a week's worth of dirty laundry. The bed was unmade, one of the pillows and the black bedspread precariously close to falling to the floor. Axel ignored all of this, kicking the clothes to one side so that he could open the closet easier. Out of it came his simple black suitcase, which was unceremoniously thrown onto the bed; it was soon followed by a pair of black dress pants and two – one white and one light grey – dress shirts. The dresser shoved against the wall opposite the bed provided the rest of the clothing needed for his weekend work on Destiny Island. Once he had retrieved the last of the necessary items from the bathroom across the hall, he lugged the suitcase into the living room area and set it beside the chair that still held his laptop bag. He moved to the desk in front of the wall and sprinkled food from the jar into the glass bowl on top of it.

"Well buddy, I'm off. Another weekend of sitting around, hoping someone will decide that they want the house." Axel smirked, remembering his last encounter with one of the aforementioned house's occupants. "At least that Roxas kid is letting me borrow books from him, for whatever reason. Kind of a strange guy, but hey, at least he's better than a fish, no offense." He shook his head, turning away from Chakram's bowl, picking up his suitcase and shouldering his bag once more. "Damn but I need a life. Almost twenty-two years old and living alone, talking to a fish."

* * *

This weekend was shaping up to be about as exciting as the last one had been. No one had shown up to wander through since the open house began an hour and a half ago. After greeting Cloud and Sora and bidding them farewell for the afternoon – the blond twin having already made himself scarce by the time Axel had arrived – the redhead had trudged up the stairs to Roxas' room and over to the large bookcases. A few moments of searching revealed where the book he'd borrowed belonged, as well as the rest of the blonde's collection of books by the same author. He'd headed back down into the living room clutching a copy of _Eaters of the Dead_. As much as Axel loved having the time to read peacefully – something he'd forgotten that he had enjoyed as a child – he really wanted to get this house sold. The sooner papers were signed for this place, the sooner Cloud had more pressure on him to make a purchase.

The sound of the front door opening made Axel jump slightly before he placed the book open on the coffee table in front of him, too lazy to insert the scrap of paper he'd been using as a bookmark. "Welcome," he called before actually turning the corner. "Come on in and – Oh." He raised an eyebrow. "You're really kind of missing the part of the concept where you're not supposed to be around."

"Huh?" was the intelligent response from Roxas.

"Talk about blank with a capital 'B'," Axel muttered. "The point of an open house is so that people can wander through the house and do that stupid thing with the light switches and ask all the dumb questions they want without the homeowners around to make them feel uncomfortable while they do it. Got it memorized yet?"

"Yeah, I get it," he replied, moving further into the house, toward the living room where the redhead had previously been sitting. "I wouldn't have come in if any people were here, but again, I could tell they weren't. So I came in to say hi, and see how you were doing with the book you borrowed."

"I meant to ask you about that, by the way, but you weren't around when I got here."

"Work," Roxas offered as an explanation.

"Right. Anyway, I want to know why you loaned me the book in the first place. Your brother almost had a heart attack when he found out, and your dad looked a little shocked, too."

"Yeah, and he wouldn't leave me alone until I told him. Sora, I mean, not Dad." The younger man didn't sound like the question was particularly welcome. "I tried telling him I was using you as a means to get over my possessiveness, but he didn't believe me. So I told him the whole story."

Axel was mildly amused at the way the blond was trying to avoid the answer. "And that was …?"

Roxas huffed, glaring at the tall man with narrowed cobalt eyes. "I'm a good judge of character, okay? I always have been. I could tell from talking to you that I could trust you. End of story."

"Okay then." This was clearly not the whole explanation, but Axel could be satisfied with at least a partial truth. He watched as Roxas moved to the new book, glancing at the cover to see what he'd selected.

"So you finished the last one? What did you think?"

"Not bad. A little unrealistic, but it's not the worst thing I could've read, I'm sure."

Blond eyebrows drew together. "Unrealistic?"

"Well, I mean, why the hell would you clone a raptor in the first place? Everybody knows they're hella dangerous."

Roxas shrugged and flopped onto the couch, the cushions making a whooshing noise as the furniture accepted his weight. He laid his head back, careful to keep his still shoe-clad feet off the couch, and turned to Axel. "Do you really care? If I'm here or not, I mean. I just really don't feel like being out today."

"And what if someone comes by to look?"

"I still have my shoes on. I'll just pretend to be looking at the house, like they are. If I lived here, I wouldn't have shoes on."

"And your uncanny resemblance to the boy in the pictures plastered around the place?"

Rolling his eyes and huffing again in apparent exasperation at the redhead's persistence, Roxas tumbled off the couch and marched back into the entranceway. Axel heard the creak of hinges before the other came back into the room, jamming a black and white baseball cap over his spikes and pulling the bill down to shadow his face. "Happy now? I'm a guy in his twenties looking to buy his first house with his girlfriend, who couldn't make it today. Maybe I'll even wander into the dining room and do the damned light switch thing."

"You're really stuck on that, aren't you?"

"It's weird."

He knew he wasn't going to win this, not with the other so dead-set on staying. "Fine, but you'll have to ask me something I can give an intelligent answer to. Y'know, to impress the prospective buyer and all."

"Done."

Both men resumed their places on their respective pieces of furniture. A moment of slightly awkward silence passed before Axel figured he might as well try to start a conversation, since it seemed his unexpected companion would be here for the remaining hour and a half until he left. "So, do you actually have aforementioned girlfriend?"

"Nope," Roxas replied, thankfully not offended by the way the question had been worded; Axel swore it had sounded better in his head. "Never will, either."

"Oh?"

"I'm gay."

"Oh."

Another awkward silence followed, this one more pronounced than the last. "That doesn't bother you, does it?" Roxas had turned his head to look straight into Axel's eyes, his expression a strange mixture of reservation and defiance.

"Nah," was Axel's reply, and his companion visibly relaxed. "I've got a few friends and co-workers who are gay. Actually," he smiled as the thought occurred to him, "I'm pretty sure my boss is in some kind of relationship with our Chief Operating Officer, and they're both guys."

"And what about you?" The couch creaked as the blond peeled himself off the leather and shifted into a slouched sitting position similar to Axel's, so that he was now facing the man. The taller of the two shook his head in response to the question.

"It's just me and my fish."

"But are you straight, or …?"

Axel shrugged. He'd had the question posed to him before on occasions when he went along with Demyx and Zexion somewhere. "I've only ever dated girls, so I guess that makes me straight. I mean, the idea of dating a guy doesn't send me screaming, but it doesn't require a cold shower, either."

"Fair enough. But wait." Roxas did the staring thing again, but Axel was getting used to it. "You have a fish? You don't really seem like a fish kind of guy."

"I'm not," the older replied, a bit shocked that Roxas was actually a good enough people-reader that he could pick up something like that. "My friend Demyx got it for me because he claimed I was lonely in my apartment by myself. I can't bring myself to intentionally kill it, so now I just have to wait until the damn thing dies. I've got Demyx feeding him while I'm gone."

Roxas was smiling a little, and it amazed Axel that it could light up the blonde's face so much, even under the shadow of the cap. "Sounds like something Sora would do. He loves animals. He's the reason we have Pluto and Red, and we'd have more pets if Dad didn't keep telling him that we don't have the space."

Suddenly, Axel had an idea that he was sure was the most brilliant thing he'd ever come up with. "Y'know," he began slyly, "that mansion property I told your dad about is pretty big. Your dogs could have their own room, and Sora could probably talk him into getting a couple more pets. And there's already a library in there, with those built-in bookshelves and the sliding ladders and stuff. You'd love it."

"Don't even bother."

This wasn't the response Axel was looking for. "What?"

"Selling Dad the house through Sora and I. It won't work."

He'd seen through the plan, evidently, and now Axel had to scramble for damage control. "Would I do that?" he asked, figuring the innocent act was the best solution.

"Yes."

"Damn, you _are_ a good judge of character."

A shrug. "I try."

"So what is it you do?" Axel asked, determined to keep the conversation going. Roxas was actually turning out to be enjoyable company, with his blunt, honest manner and seemingly genuine interest in Axel. "You said you were at work earlier, and I think your dad's mentioned it a couple times…"

"I work at the skate store in the shopping district. Mostly I restock gear and try not to laugh at the little pre-pubescent kids trying to do tricks outside the window."

The taller man didn't think Roxas could really get away with calling anyone 'little,' since he and his brother both seemed to be somewhat lacking in height, but he didn't voice his opinion. "Cool. So I assume that you can actually skateboard, then?"

"Yeah, I've been doing it almost since I could walk, Dad says. My first board was a gift for my fourth birthday. It was that plastic chunky stuff, y'know? But I was the guy's first customer when he opened shop, and I've been his favourite customer since then, so when he was looking for some extra help, he gave me a call."

A timid knock came from the front door before the two men heard it open. They jumped up from the furniture, Roxas readjusting the cap so that it came down lower on his face. "Come on in," Axel called. "I'll be right with you." He whipped his head around to Roxas, mouthing 'say something' urgently.

"So," the blond began, moving to look out the front window, "you said this place has central air conditioning and heating, right? Does it also have a central vacuuming system?"

"No, Sir, I'm afraid it doesn't." Axel grinned before turning to their guest, a petite woman with bouncy brown hair. "Welcome, Ma'am. Feel free to look around the house. My name is Axel, if you have any questions…"

"Thank you," she replied in a bright voice, returning Axel's smile before drifting off to examine the rest of the house.

"Do you eat sea salt ice cream?" the blond whispered when the woman was far enough away that she wouldn't hear. At Axel's nod, he turned toward the entrance, continuing at a normal voice. "Thanks for all your help. I'll have to talk to my girlfriend about it, but the place looks a lot like what we're looking for. I'll be in touch."

* * *

The woman, who introduced herself as Selphie, had seemed very interested in the house as she toured it. She told Axel she was looking for a place where she and her family could live with and take care of their aging grandmother. Axel praised various aspects of the house, including the potential for the dining room to be turned into a bedroom if her grandmother had difficulty with the stairs. There were no stairs up to the front door, and the deck in the backyard had a ramp onto the grass. As she moved back towards the entranceway, she enquired about the other person who'd been there when she'd arrived.

"Well, I don't know," Axel replied smoothly. "He seemed really keen on the place, but he had to talk to someone else about it first. But if they agree, and the owner accepts the offer they put in…" She took the business card Axel offered her and thanked him, promising that she would contact him soon. "Have a nice day," the redhead called to her as she opened her car door, just for extra customer relation points.

Heading into the now-familiar living room, Axel wondered idly where Roxas had gone. Just as he'd sat down, the door opened and a familiar voice shouted wryly from the foyer. "I was afraid it was going to melt if she took any longer. As it was, the store owner was looking at me funny since I was in there so long."

Snorting, the taller man thanked the blond for the proffered ice cream bar. "I was wondering where you'd run off to."

"Missed me?" Roxas' eyes flashed with amusement, taking a tone that Axel could've sworn meant the younger boy was flirting with him. "I had to wait until she was gone to come back in. It would have looked strange if I'd come back and gave you an ice cream, and it's not like I could stroll over to the freezer and put them in there, either."

"True. I hadn't thought about that."

A blond eyebrow raised as both men unwrapped their frozen treats. "You have a surprising lack of common sense sometimes."

Axel shrugged and bit into his ice cream, not bothering to confirm or deny Roxas' observation. "So, sea salt, huh?"

"It's my favourite."

"Hm. You have to wonder who sat around and decided that _salt_ would make a good ice cream flavour. I mean, on chips, sure, but a milk-based dessert?"

"You said you liked it. I would've picked up something else if you didn't."

"No, I don't mind it. It's just strange. Like this video game I saw part of once – I can't remember what it was – where they were flying around in a military academy."

Roxas nearly choked on his ice cream, which he had all but devoured during their conversation. "What?"

"Yeah! Like, who sits around and says, 'Hey guys, what if, instead of remotely normal modes of transportation, we take this giant school and make it fly?'"

"I have no idea."

"We're home!" Sora's voice echoed through the house, startling the pair who hadn't even heard the van pull into the garage. Roxas' eyes widened and he snatched the baseball cap off his head, ruffling his blond locks back into their normal spiky disarray as he jammed the headwear into the back pocket of his pants. Axel glanced at the clock, which read 4:05, as he felt Roxas grab the ice cream wrapper and stick from his hand. The blond dropped the garbage quietly into the wastebasket in the hallway as he went to greet his brother and father. "Oh hey, Rox. You beat us home! No, stay! Ah! Rox, could you grab the dogs and put them in the backyard?"

Axel moseyed into the foyer as Roxas passed by, simultaneously trying to keep the dogs from pushing him to the ground, and drag them to the patio doors in the sitting room. "Hey Cloud, Sora. How was your afternoon?"

"Good," was the reply from the blond man kicking off his shoes. "Sora, go help your brother with the dogs before something gets broken," he added to the brunet twin as the trio heard a thud from further in the house.

"Great news. A woman came by today who seemed really interested in the house."

"That's good."

"Yeah. So," Axel retrieved his book from the living room as he spoke, preparing to leave, "I gave her my card, and she said she'll be in touch. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

Cloud stopped him for a moment longer as he stepped onto the front walkway. "I was going to ask you… I mean, normally it might seem strange, but I'd almost consider you a family friend. At least more than a business acquaintance…" This comment made Axel rather happy, despite the fact that it was coming from an awkward ramble. Cloud must have realized he was rambling, since he'd trailed off before continuing. "Anyway, we were just going to order pizza for lunch tomorrow, so if you wanted, you could join us before the open house."

Axel blinked, surprised. Cloud was right, it wasn't an ordinary offer for a real estate agent and their client, but he liked this family. He nodded, with a promise to arrive on Sunday around noon.

**

* * *

**

Endnotes: So we've learned a little bit more about Roxas' character. Namely, he's good at reading people, and he's gay. I'm thinking of doing an interlude chapter sometime soon, either next chapter or the one after that probably, from Roxas' point of view. It's kind of hard to give another character's thoughts when you're focusing on another character entirely…

**And we saw Axel's place! I really think the places we live are important, because it says a lot about who we are as people. For instance, my room is really dark blue (like, a couple shades away from navy), and is COVERED in posters. I have three bookcases, all of which are completely filled, and my dresser has more knick-knacks on it than I figured would actually fit there. I collect strange things that allude to the past, either mine or someone else's (like this tankard I have with an inscription of someone's name and platoon number on it that I bought at a flea market, or the bedpost sitting against my dresser from a production I was in during high school).**

**Actually, that's what I'd like to hear from my reviewers: I want to know how you decorated your room! I mean, I also want to know what you thought of the chapter, but that's kind of a given, y'know?**

**Review! And Happy Holidays!**


	5. Chapter 5

It was Sora who opened the door for Axel slightly after noon on Sunday. "Come on in," the brunet said by way of greeting before turning his head to yell into the house. "Dad! Axel's here!"

"And does Axel still have his eardrums intact?" The wry voice came from the top of the stairs, where Roxas was making his way down to the ground floor. "Hey Axel."

"What'd you say?" he shouted back mockingly, cupping a hand to his ear. Roxas grinned while his twin rolled his eyes and huffed as he headed toward the kitchen. "Hey Roxas," Axel nodded in greeting when the blond was standing beside him. They followed the direction Sora had gone, the smell of hot pizza getting stronger as they got closer and closer to the bright kitchen.

"Go ahead and grab a plate, Axel." The redhead turned to his right and saw a hand holding a plastic garbage bag into the house through the partially open patio door. "Roxas, put this in the garage, please." Sora handed Axel a paper plate as the blond twin moved to take the bag from his father's outstretched hand. Moments later, the rest of Cloud's body emerged from the doorway after giving a final "no, stay!" to the dogs in the yard. "We got our usual pizza, which has mushrooms, onions, peppers, sausage, bacon, chicken, and tomato on it, and also a pepperoni in case you didn't like ours. Though come to think of it, we should've made it cheese, in case you were a vegetarian…"

Axel laughed. "Don't worry. I'm a firm believer in meat. I think I will stick with the pepperoni, though," he said as he grabbed a slice, quickly transferring it to his plate before any of the cheese could drip onto the floor. "Yours sounds a little too … unique for my tastes."

"Our family has a lot of strange tastes," Sora remarked as they moved towards the small kitchen table one after another after grabbing their lunch from the boxes on the countertop. "Like Rox and his ice cream. Have you ever had sea salt ice cream?"

Axel's eyes slid to Roxas, whose own eyes slipped down after contact to stare at his pizza. "Once or twice."

"It's weird, but kind of addictive, y'know?"

The redhead nodded as he swallowed the bite of pizza he'd taken. "So what's on everyone's agenda for the afternoon?"

"Taking Pluto and Red to hang out at Tidus' place."

"Office."

"Library."

"Library?" Sora's brow furrowed. "Isn't that where you went after work yesterday?"

Axel thought this slip-up might throw Roxas off. He didn't want the blond getting in trouble for hanging out with him, not to mention how it might look for Axel's professionalism. Roxas, however, seemed unfazed by the question as he shrugged. "They didn't have what I wanted, but it's supposed to be coming back in today. Besides, it's way too hot to sit and read on the beach."

"Speaking of which," Cloud chimed in, effectively changing the subject and relieving Axel of his slight worry, "Sora, please make sure you take a bottle of sunscreen with you to Tidus'. I don't want you coming home again redder than … well, Axel's hair."

The redhead snickered slightly at this, not offended in the least by the comparison, and Roxas' water very nearly came out his nose as he tried to choke back a laugh. "You okay there, Roxas?" Axel asked as the blond across from him attempted to regain something vaguely resembling composure.

"Fine," he managed to wheeze before choking one last time.

"Geez, Rox, it wasn't that funny." Sora rolled his eyes as his brother shrugged.

"Says you. I thought it was hilarious."

"Well, it _is_ kinda really red…"

Axel cleared his throat. "Totally still in the room, guys."

Cloud glanced at the glowing green clock on the microwave and stood from the table. "Does anyone want another slice before I put the leftovers in the fridge?" Axel and Sora both stood to grab more pizza, while Roxas claimed that he was full, even without eating his crusts. The tall blond placed the remaining pizza in the fridge in a plastic container, minus a few slices of pepperoni; these he wrapped in foil, telling the real estate agent that they were for him to take with him on the ferry ride home. "Sora, are you sure you can handle walking both dogs to Tidus' house?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'll be fine."

"Alright then, I'm off. I'll throw the pizza boxes in the garage for now, but Roxas, I want you to collapse them properly later. I should be home by dinner. Axel, I'll talk to you tomorrow to find out how things went. If anyone needs anything, my cell phone is on." They heard the garage door opening, and then the sound of the minivan backing slowly onto the street.

"I should get going, too," Sora remarked as he threw his empty paper plate into the trash bin under the sink. "Rox, did you want to come with me, since Tidus' house is on the way?"

"Nah. I want to check up on a few other library materials before I leave, so I know exactly what I'm there for when I get there."

"Why don't you just use the computers at the library?"

"I hate waiting for the library computers. And they're slow. You go on ahead. Are you coming home for dinner?"

Sora shook his head. "We're watching the blitzball game together at seven. Dad's picking up the dogs on his way home." The brunet moved into the hallway as Axel and Roxas threw out their own plates, Roxas grabbing one of the uneaten pieces of crust first.

Breaking the starchy food in half, the blond moved over to the patio door. He held a piece of crust in each hand as he slid the glass open. "Boys, sit. Sit!" Axel assumed the dogs must've sat, because the crusts were quickly gone from Roxas' hands. "Okay guys, go see Sora. He's gonna take you for a walk."

Roxas moved aside, and the golden retriever and yellow lab made a mad dash for Axel. Laughing, he greeted the canines with a pat on the head each as he struggled to remain standing. "Red, Pluto, come on! Walk time! Walk! Come get your leash!" The dogs left the redhead, loping towards Sora's voice. "Sit! Stay!" There was a clicking metallic sound. "Okay guys, let's go! Later, Rox! Bye, Axel!" And the front door slammed shut behind the brunet.

"Smooth, Roxas. Real smooth," Axel commented as he turned to the blond, who was wiping his hands on his pants in an effort to remove the dog slobber.

"What?"

"Looking up materials at the library. And the whole 'book coming in today' thing."

Blue eyes glanced towards him. "Who says I'm not going to? I do have a life beyond hanging out with our real estate agent, you know."

Axel placed a hand on his chest mockingly. "You wound me, Roxy."

The blond visibly bristled at the name, hissing between his teeth, "Don't call me that."

"…Okay. Sorry if it was forward of me or something. I figured we were at least kind of friends."

Roxas shook his head with his eyes closed and collapsed onto the beige couch in the sitting room. "No, I mean … I guess we're friends or something. It's just…" He trailed off for a moment before speaking again. "My father called me Roxy."

"Really? I don't think I've ever heard him use anything other than your full name."

"I don't mean Cloud. I mean my biological father." He gestured toward the end table, upon which was a wedding photo of the man and woman featured in many other pictures around the house. "That's him, next to my mother, Aerith. His name was Zack."

"Cute couple."

Roxas nodded his agreement. "You probably got at least part of the story from Dad." Axel made a sound of affirmation. "He's not much of a talker around most people, but he does like to talk about us. Cloud and Zack raised us, since Mom died giving birth. Some people might argue that's how I ended up gay, being brought up by two dads."

"What about your brother?" Axel was curious. He'd seen things in newspapers and on television every now and again when someone had a new theory on why people were inclined to mate with the same sex.

The blond shrugged. "He has yet to show interest in anything that isn't four-legged and fuzzy."

"Eighteen and no dates?"

"I haven't exactly had much experience, either."

There were so many ways Axel wanted to tease the younger man at that moment, but he refrained in favour of learning more about his intriguing acquaintance. "How come? You can't possibly tell me you're still in the closet. You told me yesterday, and we hardly know each other."

When another shrug was his answer, Axel began to wonder if maybe the reason had something to do with the blonde's social skills. "No one caught my interest."

"Ah." He turned back to the photograph. "So, two dads, huh? Didn't that get confusing?"

"Not really. Cloud was always 'Dad' and Zack was always 'Pops'. I'm sure people talked, and I don't think Pops' personality helped his case, either."

"Oh?"

"He… Well, he was a lot like Sora is now. Bright, bubbly, and very easily excitable. In all honesty, I think Sora took it hardest when he died, since Cloud's always been pretty subdued, and I tend to take after him." Roxas must have realized at that point how much he'd been talking. "Anyway, the point is that was Pops' nickname for me, and I haven't let anyone call me that since."

It was Axel's turn to shrug. "Fair enough." He replaced the photo of Zack and Aerith on the table. "Is 'Rox' okay? I've heard your brother use it a few times."

"'Rox' is fine. I don't think anyone I know under the age of, like, thirty uses my full name regularly."

"Well, I also happen to be under the age of thirty, so that works out."

"Hey, what's up with that, anyway? I mean, you're – " Roxas cursed as they heard the front door open, followed by a quiet 'hello.' He scrambled for something to throw over his head, or a place to hide where the visitor wouldn't see him dashing into place. Axel's eyes darted around the room, and he spotted a red bandana sitting on a mounted shelf beside the patio door that must have belonged to one of the dogs. Practically lunging for it, he threw it at the blond and composed himself before walking around the corner to stall the newcomer while Roxas attempted a shabby disguise. He recognized the woman in the foyer as the one who'd stopped by the day before, with the ailing grandmother. She was accompanied today by a tall blond woman, an equally tall dark-haired woman, and a man with graying hair and thin glasses.

"Hi again, and welcome," Axel greeted them smoothly. "I'm just finishing up some business in the kitchen with another party, so if you wouldn't mind touring the rest of the house first…"

"Not a problem," the woman, whose name escaped Axel, responded amicably.

Returning to the sitting room, he had to bite back a laugh. Bandanas did not suit Roxas in the least, but it was at least a passable disguise. Axel hoped that the family didn't look too closely at any of the pictures. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and handing some money over to a slightly confused blond. "Here. I'm buying today. And…" He reached for the nearest piece of paper, a memo pad beside the cordless phone. "You have your cell phone on you?" Roxas nodded. "Write down your number, and I'll let you know when they're gone."

They both headed for the front door. Their hopes of getting Roxas out unseen were crushed when the family walked down the stairs just as the pair reached the foyer. "Oh! Hello again." Evidently the woman remembered Roxas. "We keep running into each other here. Isn't it a gorgeous house?"

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "It's great."

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Selphie Tilmitt, and this is my family." The people she gestured to muttered polite greetings, clearly used to their kin's friendliness.

"Zack. Zack Gainsborough," replied the blond man, and Axel wished he'd come up with an excuse to leave as fast as he'd come up with a name. Evidently the two were on the same wavelength, as Roxas continued. "You'll have to excuse me, though. I have somewhere to be." Reaching out a hand toward Axel, the redhead wondered where he was going with this charade. "Thank you, Axel. You'll let us know if anything changes?"

"Of course."

Roxas exited the house, and Axel was able to give his undivided attention to the family. Selphie looked rather put out. "Did he put in an offer?"

The redhead now understood what the blond had done before he'd left. "He did. Were you also interested in putting in an offer? I could present both offers to the homeowner tonight before I leave."

* * *

"Shut up, Axel." Roxas was scowling as he shoved his ice cream into his mouth. The redhead had been cackling like mad the entire time Roxas had tried to set his hair back after yanking off the dog's bandana. He was finding it hard to breathe.

"Ahem. Sorry, Rox."

"Geez, and after I did you a favour, too."

"Nice going with that, by the way."

"So it worked?"

Axel smirked. "Not telling."

"You're evil."

"Thanks. I try."

Silence settled between the pair as they ate their ice cream bars. It was broken by Roxas after a few comfortable minutes. "So, how did you end up with this job, anyway? I mean, you're barely older than me, right?"

"Let the record show that I am, in fact, almost twenty-two."

"Four years isn't much of a difference."

"Whatever. So, I graduated high school, and my parents tell me to get a job since I have no interest in higher learning. I should've been working for the family, but I hate flying, so – "

"Wait," Roxas interrupted. "You're a Highwind and you hate flying?"

"Yes. I'm a terrible disappointment, a black sheep, et cetera. Can I finish answering the question you asked now?"

"Yeah." Roxas got up from the couch to throw out the wooden stick from his ice cream. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Okay. So I got a job at a construction company, but in demolitions. I did good in chemistry, and I like fire and blowing things up."

"I feel so safe in this room with you right now."

"Shh. A year later, my parents decide I'm still too much of a freeloader, and kick me out to live on my own. Then the company goes under. By this point Demyx – who I've known since midway through high school – is dating Zexion, who is working for the Organization. He tells me about their job opening, I spew some bull to the boss, and now I'm sitting in your house."

"Huh."

"Great story, isn't it?"

"Absolutely riveting. I don't think I've heard anything that exciting since Sora's dream about talking furniture."

They continued bantering and sharing stories for the rest of the afternoon. Axel hadn't bonded so quickly with a person since he'd met Demyx after a prank gone wrong had left the redhead soaked and covered in bits of coloured rubber. For some reason, Roxas was easy to talk to, and he kept up with Axel's fast-paced wit. He told Roxas stories from his childhood, living in so many places, and in return learned more about what life had been like for the blond growing up.

"Favourite colour?"

A blond eyebrow arched. "Are you serious?"

"I ran out of stories to tell, and I don't want to stop the whole male-bonding thing we have going on."

"Male-bonding? Doesn't that usually involve cars, sporting events, and copious amounts of alcohol?"

Axel shrugged. "We're males, we're bonding. I'd call it 'becoming friends' or 'getting to know one another' but that just sounds too damn girly."

"I suddenly regret ever climbing in that window."

"No you don't, Rox. Now come on; favourite colour."

Roxas sighed, but it was clear that he was going to give in to Axel. "Blue."

"Same as mine." There was a pause. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me something?"

"What is this, twenty questions?"

"Kinda."

"Because this isn't girly, either?"

"Nope. It's only girly if we refer to it as 'Truth,' or giggle."

"I think every feminist in the world currently wants to kill you for stereotyping."

"Just ask a damn question, Roxas."

"Fine. When's your birthday?"

"November fifth."

"May tenth."

"Favourite book?"

"_20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_."

Axel had expected something in the science fiction genre, since Roxas seemed to own more of that than anything else, but he'd also expected something more modern. "Huh. I haven't read anything in years, other than what you lent me. But I liked _Winnie-the-Pooh_ as a kid."

"Do you play an instrument?"

"Are you kidding? I could barely play a triangle in elementary school."

"I play three, none of them particularly well."

"How come?"

"I stopped violin when Pops died because he's the one who wanted me to learn anyway, my drum instructor moved away and I never bothered to find a replacement, and I just stopped enjoying playing the keyboard."

Glancing at the clock, the redhead was surprised to see that it was actually almost 4:30. He stood from the armchair he'd been lounging in and stretched. "Well, Rox, it's been awesome, but I gotta jet if I'm going to make the ferry on time."

"Don't forget your pizza."

"Oh, right." He placed the cold foil package on top of the papers in his large briefcase. "Tell your dad I'll be in touch with him tomorrow about the house. See you." Pulling his car out of the driveway, Axel spared a last glance at the large house before zooming away toward the docks.

**

* * *

**

End Notes: I'm not particularly pleased with this chapter. Something about the narrative bugs me. The dialogue is fine, especially the banter, but… I don't know. What do you, dear readers, think?

**In the next chapter, we get Roxas' point of view! Yay! It'll start somewhere around the time of Chapter 2, and move forward from there, showing snippets of what you've already seen from Axel's point of view, and then it'll progress beyond this chapter to push the story along.**

**Reviews are highly, highly appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Roxas!" his father's voice drifted from the basement.

"Yeah, Dad?"

A spiky blond head appeared in the hallway at the top of the basement stairs. "Sora called from work earlier. He wants you to pick up a red pepper on your way home."

"Sora's cooking tonight?"

"Well, I have the hospital benefit, and he said he wanted to do it." At Roxas' raised eyebrow, Cloud added, "As many times as you complain that he's accident prone, your brother has yet to burn down even part of the kitchen."

"If he wants to cook, why can't he pick up the pepper?" The glossy cover of the book he had tucked under his arm was starting to stick to his skin, and that wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Because the produce stand isn't on his way home. It is, however, on the way from the beach."

Roxas agreed, if only so that Cloud would let him leave the house. He'd visited the library as soon as school had ended – thankfully it had only been a half-day – and picked up the book he'd been not-so-patiently waiting for the last two months. Upcoming exams probably should've taken precedence in his mind, but there was always time for those later. The weather was gorgeous, with the mild heat of early June and the pleasant lack of humidity, and there were few things the blond enjoyed more than immersing himself in a book while his toes were wedged into hot, soothing sand. His brother would tease that Roxas was only there for the large groups of shirtless men, but he could honestly say that wasn't the case. There was no one he'd met on Destiny Island worth pursuing, and why bother to start a relationship with a tourist?

Lost in his musings, which covered everything from why he would be bothered so much by a fling with a tourist to how a fruit that tasted so utterly vile could become the city-state's official symbol and top tourist trap, he almost fell when the front wheels of his skateboard hit the first pockets of sand along the boardwalk. Roxas regained his footing, stooped to pick up his skateboard and walked the remaining yards to the sandy shore. The sight that greeted him was more than a little disheartening: the beach was covered with people, to the point where he wasn't sure he'd find a free space on the public lounge chairs placed sporadically up and down the coastline. He finally spotted an empty white chair a short way down to his left and ran for it, which was saying something for a young man bogged down by the weight of a skateboard with loose ground shifting under his feet.

It wasn't long after he'd settled down with his book that he registered the sounds of a blitzball being tossed about. Normally all the noise around him blended together while he was reading, but blitzball was something to keep an ear to, especially if Tidus was involved. The kid may have been one of the best in the league, but he was also prone to bouts of overexcitement, which meant danger to those around him. Unconsciously Roxas put a hand to the base of his skull, where his last injury by blitzball had left a bruise only a few weeks ago. He rubbed the back of his neck, his hand sliding across skin from the sweat mixed with greasy sunscreen, before reaching into his leg pocket for his apple. Biting into the crisp green fruit, Roxas let at least an hour slip away peacefully, every so often tuning in to the sound of skin hitting sporting equipment to make sure he was still safe. Somewhere in between pages 287 and 288, his reading was interrupted by screaming off to his right that startled him so badly he dropped the browning apple core that had been dangling from the slightly sticky fingers of his right hand. Roxas looked up just in time to watch an unsuspecting tourist get slammed upside the head by a pass from Tidus.

Normally he would be rather annoyed at having his reading interrupted, but Roxas couldn't say that he wasn't at least a bit glad he'd looked up without it being a complete and utter lie. Clutching where he'd been hit while listening to the blond athlete apologize was the most interesting man Roxas had seen in a while. Thin and bony, he had more defined hips than Roxas saw on half the girls at school, not to mention dangerous-looking elbows. A smooth torso led up to delicate facial features that were probably intriguing when they weren't contorted in pain. Beyond the face, suddenly Roxas understood why stop signs were red.

The stranger gathered his belongings and headed up the beach in Roxas' direction. Not wanting to be caught staring, he shielded his face from view with his book, feet digging deeper into the sand as he slouched in the chair. Even long after the man was gone – and Roxas was sure he was gone because he'd watched him walk until he was a tiny speck of red on the horizon – the book stayed in front of Roxas' face, which wouldn't have been unusual if not for the fact that he wasn't actually reading any of the words on the pages. Instead he was wondering why he'd bothered to look at the strange man at all. Part of his earlier musings on the stupidity of a relationship with a tourist had been the realization that, because of this mindset, he never even bothered to check them out. Why look at what you don't really want to have, anyway? But for some reason, Roxas hadn't just turned back to his book after making sure that Tidus hadn't committed manslaughter; he'd appraised the victim. Now the image swam in his head of skin almost rivaling hair colour, of limbs moving gracefully across the grainy ground. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to actually be attracted to someone he'd never see again. Sighing, Roxas figured he might as well pick up that red pepper and head home. He cursed when he discovered that even red pepper brought the man back to his mind.

* * *

Cloud was tapping his foot on the floor in the sitting room the next day when Roxas took a seat on the couch for the 'family meeting.' This, more than the unexpected call to the main floor, clued the young blond into the fact that something big was up, since Cloud had stopped tapping his foot years ago after he discovered that puppies thought it made for an excellent game. His brother, who was sprawled sideways over the chair in the corner with his feet dangling from the armrest, turned to look at the patriarch. "So what's up?"

The blond man cleared his throat. "Well boys … I met someone last night – "

"Go Dad!"

Roxas snickered as the brunet twin received a harsh glare. "…Not like that?"

"No."

"Oh, sorry. Continue."

"Anyway, I met a man last night who was there on behalf of his real estate company. We got talking – "

"You talked? With words and stuff?"

"You can be replaced, you know."

Sora grinned. "Dad, we all know you're not the most socially adept person out there. You can't blame me for being surprised."

"Can I finish now?"

"Yep."

Cloud sighed. Roxas wished he's made some popcorn before taking his seat. "We're moving."

Now it was Roxas' turn to be shocked, though this was genuine rather than mocking. "We're doing what now?"

Their father was more firm now. "Moving. You're both going to school in the fall, and I don't necessarily have to work at this particular office, so I figured it would be best for everyone. You can still fly out here to visit during breaks, and it's not like we're lacking in communication technology."

"So then why can't we just stay in a dorm while you stay here?" He was confused. Cloud hadn't mentioned even thinking about moving before this. It took a while for the man to answer.

"I'd rather be closer to you boys for emergency purposes."

So that was it. Their father was internally a basket case who wasn't ready to deal with Empty Nest Syndrome at the age of thirty-four. He could deal with that. Sora might have a bit of a rough time adjusting, but Roxas didn't have many friends he'd miss leaving behind. It might be weird at first to not have the skate shop and the beach around, but he'd get used to it. Besides, this meant he didn't have to spend hours trying to decide what books would accompany him to school.

* * *

The dogs nearly bowled him over when he came through the door after work. He kicked his shoes off haphazardly, one landing backwards with the other on top of it, before shuffling his way into the kitchen while trying not to step on any paws. "Hey, Dad," he greeted, since Cloud was filing papers away into a portfolio on the table.

"How was work?" He was given a brief but not unfeeling glance before the older blond went back to his work.

"Good, I guess. We didn't get robbed and no one died." He bit into the apple he'd grabbed from the bag labeled 'ROXAS' before kicking the crisper and fridge door shut with his heel. The personal fruit stash was to balance out his mild ice cream addiction, his father insisted. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if one of those kids cracked their head open on the pavement one of these days."

Cloud nodded distractedly and Roxas headed upstairs, figuring he wouldn't get much more out of the man that night. When he reached the top of the flight, he heard his brother's voice call out from behind the closed door. "Rox, is that you?"

"Yeah. What do you need?"

Opening the door revealed a stressed Sora, his hair an even messier array of spikes than usual. "Help me! I can't do this."

"English?"

"Is stupid. Yes. Can you please explain this to me?"

Roxas stood at the foot of the bed and pulled the review sheet from his brother's hand. "Which one?"

"All of the Shakespeare stuff."

"All of it? Seriously?"

Sora pouted. "My notes from that unit don't make any sense to me."

"But you spend an entire month on Shakespeare."

"And I have a month's worth of useless gibberish. Please, Roxas? I'll buy you a book."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Sora, I'm your brother. You don't need to buy me a book for helping you."

"Okay!"

"… You're not supposed to agree to that so readily."

"Less talk, more help."

He huffed, but conceded to his twin's demands. Slowly they began to work through the problems.

"But that's stupid and it makes no sense!" Sora exclaimed some time later.

"How is iambic pentameter stupid, exactly?"

"Because it's got ten syllables, but 'penta' means five!" Sora was much more mathematically-minded.

"… Well, ten is a multiple of five."

The brunet raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you could come up with, isn't it?"

"Pretty much."

"You suck." Roxas turned to exit, but it seemed like Sora wasn't ready to let him leave the room yet. "You missed the real estate dude by, like, a minute."

"Your point?" Really, the blond didn't see one forthcoming any time soon.

"He's too young for Dad." Sora sounded thoroughly disappointed. He'd explained to Roxas his brilliant plan to get Cloud together with the man he'd met at the hospital function. Roxas had wondered where his brother had gotten the crack he was clearly on. "Like, barely older than us."

"Did you really think it would work anyway?"

"Not really, but that's not the point."

"Oh?" Roxas was scared.

"I have a new plan now!"

He stared at his brother, mind whirring a million miles a minute, trying to think the way the brunet would. It clicked. "Sora, I am _not_ going to date our real estate guy. No, just no."

"But Rox, you haven't even seen him yet!"

"Doesn't matter. The answer's still no, and don't you dare try anything."

"Aww!"

"No!" Roxas closed his brother's door and marched to his own room, the door slamming as he flopped into the desk chair. The idea was ridiculous! Just because he was gay and single didn't mean he wanted his brother trying to throw him together with some random guy.

* * *

Curse his lack of foresight! Roxas swore profusely in his head as he lingered outside his house, debating. He'd finished his beach book sooner than he'd thought, and needed a new one to pass the rest of the afternoon. There was nothing at the library for him right now because it was all sitting in his room. He could walk through the house pretending to be interested, but the real estate agent – this 'Axel' person – might notice something. Plus, just because it looked like no one was in the house now didn't mean people couldn't show up at any given second. He could just leave and go without a book for the remainder of the afternoon, but Roxas was pretty sure that the minutes would feel like days in that case. Glancing up, he stared at the window to his bedroom, wishing he had some sort of superpower that would get him through to his room. The tree grazed his window screen, and Roxas had never wanted to be a tree more than he did at that very second.

Wait. That was an idea. The tree that Cloud always complained about reached all the way up to his bedroom. He could climb into his room, exchange books, and be out before the man inside even realized he was there. It was perfect!

Minutes later, Roxas wanted to revoke that statement. This was not perfect in any way, shape or form. The screen wouldn't pop out, and he was sure that the branch was only barely supporting his weight. Digging his stubby nails into the sides, he pulled hard at the screen, willing it to move with all of his brain power. Shockingly enough it worked, but what was more shocking was that the unexpectedness of the shift sent Roxas sprawling onto his desk, still clutching the screen. Crap. There was no way the agent hadn't heard all the noise.

He needed to get out, and fast. Too bad that wasn't likely to happen with the amount of pain shooting up his leg. Still, he hobbled as quickly as he could, eyes scanning the shelves for the book he wanted. The door creaked open and Roxas turned to greet the real estate agent guiltily.

Well damn. It was the man from the beach a while back, the one Roxas was sure he'd never see again. He wasn't sure if the sound he wanted to hear at that moment was the hallelujah chorus or the sound of the floor swallowing him whole.

* * *

Sora flung himself beside Roxas on the blonde's bed and received a dirty look in reply. Roxas was not in the mood. Apparently his brother couldn't pick up on that. "Spill it."

"Spill what, exactly, Sora?"

"The story. You and real estate dude. I know you, Rox, and I know how nuts you are about your books. It took me three weeks to get you to lend me _Hamlet_, and was for _class_. I want to know what makes you instantly sure that this guy isn't going to torch anything when you can't even trust your own brother."

Roxas sighed. Sora picked the most inconvenient times to be an astute observer. He was hoping this would all go right over the brunet's head. "I met Axel, okay? He seemed like a good guy. And you know how I am with people."

"Oh no, you don't!" His brother was evidently not going to be fluffed off. "I'm not buying the people-reader excuse. And where exactly did you meet him?"

"Here. I climbed through my window to get a new book and he heard me. Plus I saw him get hit in the head with Tidus' blitzball a while back."

The brunet made a face. "I'm not even going to touch the window thing. We may be almost the same person sometimes, but I will never understand the book obsession." He paused, which made Roxas afraid. A deep-in-thought Sora was a hazard to everyone involved. "Wait. Blitzball. At the beach? Like, you saw him without a shirt?"

Roxas closed his eyes and began repeatedly knocking his head backwards against the wall. "Yes, Sora. I saw him in all of his sunburnt, shirtless, skinny glory. Are we done yet?"

"You like him! You totally like him!"

"… I wasn't aware that I had a twin sister. And just because I think he's attractive doesn't mean I _like_ him."

"Ha! But you admit you find him attractive!" Sora got up from the bed and did a small victory dance that seemed to involve a lot of arm flailing. Roxas supposed it was from playing so many video games. "That's the first step! And you wouldn't remember that much detail if you weren't at least a little bit interested."

"I told you before, and I'll tell you again: I'm not going to date our real estate agent."

"Why not?"

"Because that's about as cliché as the mailman porn plotline."

"Your problem is that you're thinking of him as his occupation. Get to know him as a person, Rox. You said it yourself: he seems like a good guy."

Roxas just looked at the boy standing in front of him. "Why are you so dead-set on this?"

"Because," Sora said, unusually serious. "He's the first guy I've ever really seen you take anything _resembling_ an interest in. I want to see you happy."

"I am happy." He was also confused.

"No, you're content. That's not the same thing." Sora headed for the door. "Like I said, get to know him."

* * *

**End Notes: Okay, so it's only been …what? Three or four months? Oops. In my defense, the strike ended at my school, and work hit me like a sack of bricks. A really heavy one. Probably lead.**

**That aside, here we see a brief glance as to what's going on from Roxas' side of these encounters. Now we have an idea of why he's been around so often, and what he's expecting to happen from all of this. And yes, Roxas is a bookworm. I don't think it's out of character at all. He and Hayner didn't want to do their summer homework in KHII, but that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy academic-related things. He just hates doing them for the purpose of school. I'm kind of the same way.**

**One final note, regarding Sora's victory dance: This is based partly on a friend of mine when she was imitating a child dancing, and partly based on another friend playing the wii. Specifically, the Rabid Rabbits game. The one where you launch bunnies from a catapult. Seriously, you just flail like your life depends on it. **

**Next chapter moves back to Axel for some actual plot advancement!**


End file.
